Another between-blogs update...

Green goings-on

Ayer Greenway Committee Birding Walk -- Saturday, May 15, 9 a.m.
Meet at the Groton-Harvard Road trail head for a short walk to the Habitat Trail lookout to watch for Great Blue Herons and a resident osprey pair, as well as other birds in the woods and on the pond. Would-be birders are advised to dress for tick season and bring water and binoculars (if possible). Takashi Tada and Beth Suedmeyer will be leading the way. For more information, call 618-214-8593.

Family Owl Prowl -- Saturday, May 29, 7 - 9 p.m.

North County Land Trust, MassAudubon and the Nashua River Watershed Association are teaming up this year to offer several upcoming programs at the Crocker Conservation Area near downtown Fitchburg, including this chance to spend an evening in the woods listening for -- and calling -- Barred Owls (and, with a little luck, Screech Owls and Great Horned Owls). This naturalist-led event is a popular one and limited to 50 participants, so pre-registration is required. For more info, call 978-466-3900 or e-mail info@northcountylandtrust.org. A donation of $4 per adult (ages 16 and up) or $2 per child is suggested to help the organizations cover costs.

Ayer Recycling Committee meeting -- Wednesday, June 2, 7 p.m.
All interested individuals are encouraged to meet at Town Hall Conference Room A. The evening's agenda includes updating information on the Ayer website and planning for fall zero-waste day. For more information, e-mail Laurie Sabol.

Morning woodland stroll -- Thursday, June 10, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Brought to you by the aforementioned partnership between North County Land Trust, MassAudubon and the Nashua River Watershed Association, this trail walk will follow a trail along Hemlock Hill. Walkers should, according to the event's sponsors, "bring your coffee, and leave your cell phone behind." Registration, donation and contact information are the same as for the Owl Prowl above.

Together on the Land: Options for ecological living in community -- Saturday, June 12, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This event will lead participants on a tour of Franklin County homes and farms that have tested different models for community living, such as community land trusts, coops, cohousing, and more. The tour, jointly sponsored by Cooperative Development Institute, Coop Power, Equity Trust, Franklin Land Trust, Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust and Valley Community Land Trust, aims to connect attendees with others working toward sustainable community living, point up real-world examples and explain the basics of how they work. To pre-register, visit Valley Community Land Trust's page for the tour. Ticket prices range from $20 to $40.

Nashua River Watershed Association and MassAudubon summer camp programs signups -- Going on now!
Both of these organizations have more summer offerings than you can shake a stick at -- just the ticket for fueling young naturalists' curiosity. To learn more about NRWA's summer programs, visit its website and e-mail Lauren Parente, Eco-Adventures Coordinator, or call her at (978) 448-0299. To peruse MassAudubon's summer offerings, visit the organization's camps Web page and click on the name of a sanctuary near you...two of the closest are Drumlin Farm in Lincoln and Wachusett Meadow in Princeton.

Urgent: Key Green Communities piece up for vote this Monday

In Article 26 of Monday's Town Meeting warrant, the Board of Selectmen is seeking approval to formally contract with Johnson Controls to help Ayer reduce its energy usage. This perfomance contract is a key step toward Ayer being designated a Green Community, which will give the town a chance at state grants to promote greater strides in energy efficiency. A yes vote from the town sets the ball rolling. Town Meeting will be at 7 p.m., this Monday, in the Ayer High School Auditorium.

Between-blogs events

Green goings-on

Groton Local school gardens program -- Thursday, April 29, 7 to 8 p.m.
The Groton Local Farm-to-School group will be holding its Breaking New Ground program this Thursday at the Groton School. Panelists will be Jed Coughlin, food service director at Groton School; Amy Gifford, expert on school gardens projects and curriculum; Jane Hirschi, educational director of City Sprouts, the Cambridge-based school garden project; Ann Cody from the state Farm-to-School Program, and students from Project Sprout, the Great Barrington high school community garden project recognized to be the first student-initiated, student-run community garden in the country. For more information, visit http://www.grotonlocal.org/node/113#s2.

Afternoon hike in Fitchburg, Saturday, May 8, 1:30 to 3 p.m.
North County Land Trust, the Nashua River Watershed Association and the Mass Audubon Society are jointly sponsoring an afternoon exploration of Fitchburg’s northern watershed areas. These include over 2,400 acres of protected open space, located just a half mile from downtown Fitchburg. The hike will set off from the Crocker Conservation Area kiosk at the top of Flat Rock Road in Fitchburg. Reservations are required: call 978-466-3900 or e-mail North County Land Trust.

More April news

Ayer looking for title of "Green Community"
What's in a name? Well, if Ayer achieves its goal of being designated a "Green Community," what's in that name is a shot at state funding to help pay for a range of potential projects that would increase our town's energy efficiency and cut its greenhouse gas emissions. But first, Ayer has to earn the name by demonstrating its green commitment.

The push to earn the Green Community designation comes out of the Green Communities Act Governor Deval Patrick passed in 2008 in a bid to put Massachusetts in the forefront of national energy reform efforts. Towns who meet the criteria set forth in the Act and earn the right to call themselves Green Communities become eligible for state funding for programs that can help propel them to even greater energy efficiency.

Five criteria
There are five criteria Ayer and other towns pursuing the title of "Green Community" must meet:

• Ensuring zoning laws are written to permit key kinds of alternative energy projects around town.
• Expediting approvals that will allow work on such projects to progress.
• Determining Ayer's energy use baseline and coming up with a plan to reduce usage within five years.
• Shifting as much as possible of the town's fleet of vehicles to energy-efficient models.
• Guaranteeing that new residential and commercial construction be more energy-efficient through code changes and additional inspections.

As a first step in Ayer's progress toward becoming a Green Community, the town's Energy Committee hired energy-efficiency consulting firm Johnson Controls for an energy performance contract.

Under this contract, Johnson Controls recently completed an energy use audit of town buildings (including Town Hall, the police station, fire station, schools and library). Next, the firm will suggest and help implement ways of streamlining these facilities' energy use.

"This is really the heart of the program," says Selectman Carolyn McCreary, one of the Green Communities effort's champions.

Solar project in the works
The town is paying for Johnson Controls' work through a combination of Federal stimulus funds and grant money. As things progress, the contractor will also receive part of its payment from the energy savings that come out of its recommendations. One project related to these recommendations will be a ground-mounted solar array on town-owned land near the Department of Public Works office. Once installed, the new solar setup will generate energy for Ayer's municipal buildings.

Ayer also has access to funds to pursue energy use cuts from the Regional Energy Greenhouse Gas Initiative (REGGI) -- in essence, collected carbon tax.

On the agenda at BOS meetings
Johnson Controls was due to present its snapshot of the town's energy consumption at a meeting with the Energy Committee on March 30; however, that meeting had to be rescheduled due to emergency meetings about the town's water situation. It is now due to present its plan for reducing the town's energy consumption at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. Kelly Brown, regional Green Communities coordinator, will attend the following week's BOS meeting (4/20).

If Ayer is able to meet all the criteria in time -- some criteria have been met, while the town is reviewing others -- the first chance to receive the Green Communities designation will be this May.

Residents' support key to moving forward
"Becoming a Green Community is a great opportunity for Ayer," says Selectman McCreary. "The energy reductions we'll be pursuing will mean cost savings for the town. And if we succeed, we will be allowed to apply for grants to take our alternative energy and energy reduction efforts even further. Also, it means Ayer is being a good environmental citizen.

"We hope residents will let us know they support our Green Communities work by attending Board of Selectmen meetings," she says. "The more citizens get excited about this and show their support, the sooner we're likely to make our goal."


Green goings on

Free trail walk and vernal pools exploration April 17, 9 a.m. to noon
Outdoorsfolk of all ages are invited to meet at the trailhead of Pine Meadow Pond Conservation Area on Groton Harvard Road in Ayer for a chance to get acquainted (or better acquainted) with the Pine Meadow Pond and Science Trails, courtesy of the Ayer Greenway Committee.

The trails offer nice water views and interesting geological formations. Stops at vernal pools may turn up salamanders, wood frogs, egg masses and other creatures. Hikers are advised to bring water, dress appropriately for the weather and wear sturdy walking shoes. For more info, call 618-214-8593.


Nashua River Watershed Association vacation offerings

Whether you're thinking of the imminently approaching April vacation or the only slightly less-imminently approaching days of summer, it's time to book spots for the kids in the Nashua River Watershed Association's kids' activities.

From one-day programs that give area school kids a great taste of what spring has to offer in and around our local woods and waterways to a spring peepers program for tadpoles of the human variety to summer Eco-Adventures and more, NRWA has everything your budding naturalists could want. For a more detailed rundown of their offerings, visit the NRWA website and contact Lauren Parente, Eco-Adventures Coordinator, at (978) 448-0299, or send her an e-mail.

A correction

Near the end of the story "Amping up the energy at Page-Hilltop," is a line reading "The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund comes from an electric- bill surcharge we all pay toward promoting renewable energy." Actually, that surcharge is optional. Customers can check a box on their bill and pay a few dollars per bill to support alternative energy sources -- or not.

Coming to Ayer this summer: Recycling made simple!

If all goes according to the Ayer Department of Public Works' plans, your days of separating recyclables into multiple bins at home before hauling them to the transfer station and distributing them into multiple bins there should be numbered. The DPW is planning to convert the town's recycling program to a zero-sort system beginning July 1.

That means you'll be able to collect all the common types of recycled goods you do now (paper, newsprint, plastics and glass, for instance) without presorting them at home. And when you arrive at the transfer station, there will be one point of collection for all recyclables and one for trash...and that will be it! (Bulk items will still be handled separately.)

Dan Nason, DPW superintendent, says, "Moving to a zero-sort system will streamline the recycling process for residents, and reducing the number of dropoff points will make trips to the transfer station safer from a traffic standpoint, as well.

"By making recycling easier for residents," he adds, "we are hoping to increase Ayer's recycling numbers, which will save us money, and decrease our tonnage of municipal solid waste (trash), which will also yield savings for the town."

The DPW is currently reviewing quotes from several vendors, but ultimately hopes to go with a single contractor for both recycled goods and MSW. Right now, Ayer's recycled goods are parceled out among several vendors, with trash going to a different company. The DPW's contract with its current MSW firm expires in June, which is part of the impetus behind the current planning effort.

"Uniting these processes under one vendor should ultimately reduce some of the administrative costs we are seeing now," says Nason.

For skeptics who might worry that zero-sort recycling on the residential end means items are not actually being recycled at all or not effectively, Nason offers reassurance. "The vendors' processes are very automated, but they are for-profit companies (selling to companies who use the recycled goods in their own products), so they make sure their sorting is thorough so that the end result can be sold for maximum value."

Stay tuned for updates as the July 1 changeover date approaches!

March/April 2010

Pick up, then party! On Saturday, April 10, you can show some Ayer pride and a little pre-Earth Day spirit by taking part in "A Cleaner Ayer," the third annual town cleanup day. Just stop down at Depot Square any time between 9 and 11:30 a.m. to register the area you'll be tackling and to get your gloves and bags. The pickup will wrap up at noon, but volunteers are also needed to help sort recyclables at the transfer station from 1 to 2 p.m.

Students take note: Participation in A Cleaner Ayer counts toward community service hours you need for graduation. Make sure to grab participation sheets when you stop at Depot Square for your bags and gloves.

Afterward, bring your favorite goodies and bask in the post-cleanup glow at an all-ages dance party and dessert potluck at Town Hall from 7 to 10 p.m., open to everyone, whether you took part in the a.m. cleanup efforts or not. Learn some new steps along with Donna Shea and Michael Quigley and the staff of DL Dance Enterprises or visit the kids' craft area. A perfect end to a perfect spring day.

For more info or to volunteer to help with sorting recyclables or setup/breakdown for the party, contact Laurie Sabol at 987-772-7858 or ayerrecycles@gmail.com.


Amping up the energy at Page-Hilltop -- Renewable energy, that is. Thanks to grant money from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund, kids at Page-Hilltop Elementary have been learning all about alternative power sources.

Laurie Nehring, president of People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment (PACE) and a former high-school science teacher, working closely with fifth grade teacher Ginny Egan and Principal Fred Deppe, has been leading an afterschool enrichment program for fourth and fifth graders. Says Laurie, "Each week, we do a small experiment about renewable energy, and then we go for a hike along a trail near the school. We look for signs of wildlife, signs of spring, and just enjoy being outside."

She adds, "The students are interested and smart and fun!" Their first week, they won Laurie's admiration by insisting on picking up a quantity of trash they came across during their hike. "These kids give me hope," she says.

Just getting underway is a renewable energy unit for all of Page-Hilltop's 5th graders. According to Laurie, the unit will start with a "Global Footprint" analysis, where students will analyze their energy use to see graphically how many earths their lifestyles require.

"We will then delve into four of the more common renewable energy sources - solar, wind, geothermal and biomass," she says. "The major hands-on project will involve students working in design teams to develop plans for an energy-efficient, green building that could be used for the new Ayer-Shirley science wing."

The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund comes from an electric- bill surcharge we all pay toward promoting renewable energy. The funds are filtered back to communities to use for renewable energy projects or to educate community members on the benefits of greener energy sources. Both Page-Hilltop's current renewable energy programs -- along with materials and science kits which the school was able to purchase -- came from this fund, with the approval of the Ayer Board of Selectmen, who distribute the portion that comes back to our town.

Green goings on

People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment (PACE) meeting -- Tuesday, March 23, Nashoba Park Assisted Living, 7 p.m.
Conservation Commission meetings -- Thursday, March 27, and Thursday, April 8, Town Hall, 7 to 9 p.m.
Greenway Committee meeting -- Saturday, March 27, Ayer Library, 10:30 a.m. to noon. A Cleaner Ayer townwide cleanup -- April 10, kicking off from Depot Square, 9 a.m. to noon.
Worcester VegFest 2010 -- A festival celebrating the vegetarian lifestyle, with a variety of speakers and resources. Saturday, April 17, at the Student Center at Worcester State College, 486 Chandler Street, Worcester, noon to 5 p.m. For more info, visit http://vegworcester.com/festival/.